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Allsvenskan 2016 summary pt. 2

A week ago I published the first part of – hopefully – three Allsvenskan 2016 summaries, then focusing on team performance. Now it’s time to have a look at individual players, much like I did back in July. Though there now exists detailed Opta data for Allsvenskan, my work on this site has mostly been based on the older, less detailed data sources focused on shots and thus this summary will only look at attacking players.

I’ve again had a look at Goal Contribution (goals+assists) and Expected Goals, dividing all players into three age groups, and also had a closer look at a few interesting players:

The Goal Contribution chart is unsurprisingly headed by Häcken’s John Owoeri who clinched the title as the league’s top scorer with his 4 goals against Falkenberg in the last round of the season. Interestingly, Owoeri only came alive in the second half of the season, scoring 15 of his 17 goals after the summer break.

Assist monster Magnus Wolff Eikrem sits in second, with his 0.71 assists per 90 minutes playing a big part in Malmö retaking the title. Of the other top players, Antonsson, Kjartansson and Nyman left the league during the summer transfer window but still impressed enough during the spring to remain in the top 10.

Djurgården’s Michael Olunga sits top among the players aged 20-23. Dubbed ‘The Engineer’ for his ongoing studies, Olunga just like Owoeri needed time to get going, scoring all of his 12 goals during the last 13 games when Mark Dempsey came in to steer Djurgården away from the relegation battle.

Comparing Owoeri and Olunga, it’s clear from the shot maps why Owoeri was the superior goalscorer this season. He only shoots slightly more than Olunga, but does so from far better locations closer to goal, with his average xG per shot at 0.16 while Olunga at 0.12 rely more on his finishing skill from longer range. If ‘The Engineer’ can work on his shot selection for next season I really think he can challenge for the top scorer title.

AIK’s Alexander Isak reign supreme among the youngest players, with his 0.62 G+A90 very impressive for a player who only turned 17 late in the season. He’s quite good at getting into good shot locations as well, with 5 of his 10 goals coming from a sweet spot just in front of goal.

There’s been plenty of rumours of an upcoming big transfer during the winter window and looking very much like the real deal, Isak could very well break Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s transfer record from 2001. Here’s a nice radar plot from Ted Knutson showing Isak’s skills:

Malmö’s Vidar Kjartansson was the king of xG this season, and the club impressingly still managed to secure the title after selling him during the summer transfer window. Kjartansson combined both quantity with quality, taking most of his shots from very good locations with an average xG per shot of 0.2.

Östersund’s Abdullahi Gero was a bit of a surprise for me, but his shot locations are good with an average xG per shot close to Kjartansson at 0.19. He could very well go on to score more next season if given the chance in Graham Potter’s Östersund side which have done so well xG-wise this season – actually finishing 4th in xG Difference per game!

As a Djurgården supporter I’m glad to see 20-year old Tino Kadewere’s development this season. Though his 793 minutes played was less than the 900 needed to be included above, he racked up an impressing 0.79 G+A90 which would see him sit 8th overall, just above Olunga, and top the players aged 20-23 if the cut-off would have been 1/4 of the league minutes played instead of 1/3. Focusing more on assists than Olunga, the two could form a dynamic partnership for Djurgården if they get the chance next season.

That’s it for now, but if you want to see more shot maps, just give me a shout on twitter. If I’ll find the time, I’ll also write a third summary looking at how my predictions have done over the season and how my model did against the betting markets.